Canadian Destroyers in the English Channel: 25-29 Apr 1944

As the Allies were preparing for the invasion of France on 6 June 1944, Combined Operation
Headquarters assigned the 10th Destroyer Flotilla the task of eliminating German destroyers in the
English Channel and Bay of Biscay. The flotilla was composed of Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and Royal
Navy (RN) vessels: the destroyers HMCS
Haida (RCN),
Huron (RCN),
Athabaskan (RCN), HMS
Tartar
(RN),
Eskimo (RN),
Ashanti (RN), and
Nubian (RN). This formidable group was bolstered with the
addition of the RN cruisers
Bellona and
Black Prince. British Vice-Admiral Leatham commanded the
flotilla. Throughout April, the 10th Destroyer Flotilla staged several aggressive patrols in the English
Channel. By 24 April, the
Haida,
Athabaskan, and
Huron had conducted 19 night missions.

The three RCN destroyers, supported by the RN cruiser
Black Prince and the destroyer
Ashanti,
scoured the English Channel for German destroyers from 25 to 28 April 1944. The
Haida and
Athabaskan sank the German destroyer T-29 on the night of 25 April. As the group was returning to
Plymouth, a port city in the south of England, the
Ashanti and
Huron collided. While both destroyers
sustained only light damage, they would remain in port for repairs.

On the night of 28-29 April 1944, the
Haida, captained by Commander Harry DeWolf, and the
Athabaskan, commanded by Lieutenant-Commander J.H. Stubbs, were patrolling the coast of northern
France near the harbour of Brest. At 3:30 a.m., the two Canadian destroyers encountered the German
destroyers T-24 and T-27. Commander DeWolf immediately gave the order to attack. As the two RCN
ships closed with the enemy, the
Athabaskan was torpedoed by one of the German destroyers.
Although the
Athabaskan gun and torpedo crews continued to fire, the destroyer was clearly sinking.
Lieutenant-Commander Stubbs gave the order to abandon ship.

The two German destroyers now concentrated their fire on the
Haida, but Commander DeWolf
continued his attack run. The gun crews of the
Haida targeted T-27, and, in a matter of minutes, the
German ship was in flames. As the captain of T-27 beached his ship, the
Haida turned its guns on T-24
as it attempted to pick up
Athabaskans survivors. The RCN destroyer inflicted heavy damage on T-24,
and the German ship retreated northward.

The
Haida managed to pick up 44 survivors, but 128 Canadian seamen were lost, including
Lieutenant-Commander Stubbs. Some 83 of the
Athabaskan's crew managed to swim ashore on the
French coast and became prisoners of war.

During its operations in April, the 10th Destroyer
Flotilla had sunk 3 destroyers, 1 U-boat, 31 other
enemy ships, and damaged 17 others. The RCN destroyer HMCS
Haida had accounted for 2 destroyers,
1 U-boat, and 15 other German ships.